{"id":22066,"date":"2022-03-06T07:00:49","date_gmt":"2022-03-06T13:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cfosimplified.com\/?p=22066"},"modified":"2022-09-12T17:43:37","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T22:43:37","slug":"how-a-cfo-can-help-sell-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cfosimplified.com\/cfo\/how-a-cfo-can-help-sell-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How a CFO Can Help Sell Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How a CFO Can Help Sell Your Business<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For many business owners, selling their business goes a lot deeper than just a\u00a0 transaction. For most, their business represents decades of hard work and dedication. For this reason, it\u2019s important that the sale process is seamless. One way to do so? Engaging a CFO when selling your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the video below, hear from Larry Chester, President of CFO Simplified, as he provides insight into how a CFO can support the sale of your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style>\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/\/KYoWnO76hU8\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who is Involved in the Process?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a business owner is interested in selling his or her business, they need a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">team of people <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to help do that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think: There is no single person who has all the knowledge necessary to give you every single piece of information you need to be able to sell your business effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This considered, there are various roles you need to consider filling prior to selling your business. Below we\u2019ve noted a few.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You will need:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>A sales team:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This is your investment banker whose job is to identify either a financial or a strategic buyer who is interested in buying your business.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>A tax expert: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You will need someone to give you tax advice on what the best vehicle is to be able to sell your business.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>A banker: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their role is to find and help you discuss where funding may allow you to be able to sell your business properly.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last, but most importantly, you need a <\/span><b>CFO<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-22091 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cfosimplified.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/How-a-CFO-Helps-Sell-Your-Business-451x1024.png\" alt=\"How a CFO Helps Sell Your Business\" width=\"451\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cfosimplified.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/How-a-CFO-Helps-Sell-Your-Business-451x1024.png 451w, https:\/\/www.cfosimplified.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/How-a-CFO-Helps-Sell-Your-Business-132x300.png 132w, https:\/\/www.cfosimplified.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/How-a-CFO-Helps-Sell-Your-Business-768x1745.png 768w, https:\/\/www.cfosimplified.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/How-a-CFO-Helps-Sell-Your-Business-676x1536.png 676w, https:\/\/www.cfosimplified.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/How-a-CFO-Helps-Sell-Your-Business.png 880w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 451px) 100vw, 451px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How a CFO Helps Sell Your Business<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You need a CFO to help put your business financials together.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Financials<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your financials must accurately reflect how the business is operating and show that it operates in the best light. This way, you can get the best money for your business when you sell it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And what does the best money mean? The best money means a multiple.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on how your business is structured and what your profitability is, you will receive some multiple on EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EBITDA is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/e\/ebitda.asp#:~:text=EBITDA%2C%20or%20earnings%20before%20interest,net%20income%20in%20some%20circumstances.&amp;text=This%20metric%20also%20excludes%20expenses,expense%20and%20taxes%20to%20earnings.\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">defined<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as \u201ca measure of a company&#8217;s overall financial performance and is used as an alternative to net income in some circumstances.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some multiple of EBITDA is what you&#8217;re going to be paid for your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you hire a fractional CFO to help guide your business during this time, chances are they\u2019ve been doing monthly assessments of your transaction readiness. This readiness report should cover all important areas of your business: legal, finance, HR, intellectual property, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond the Numbers<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s important to note that your CFO\u2019s role is about more than just the numbers. They need to be able to understand the pulse of your business as a whole.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As mentioned, they must consider the team that\u2019s needed to execute the sale, target buyers, and the timing of the potential sale. Your CFO also plays a key role in the execution of the transaction; meaning supporting due diligence, liability and risk assessment, and deal terms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on the type of sale you\u2019re looking for, your CFO may have varying responsibilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Final Word<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prior to selling your business, there are three things you want to do as a business owner:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maximize profitability<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stabilize your balance sheet<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide consistent profitability going forward<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A CFO can help achieve these three goals. He or she will also work as a coordinator between the investment banker, your bank, your strategic buyers, your tax attorney, and whoever else you&#8217;re working with as that advisory team to help you sell your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All this considered, a CFO is a key person for any business owner to use, especially when they&#8217;re interested in selling their business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interested in learning more about exit planning? Read on for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfosimplified.com\/business-transition\/plan-your-exit-8-paths-to-a-successful-business-exit-strategy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eight ways to craft a successful business exit strategy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How a CFO Can Help Sell Your Business For many business owners, selling their business goes a lot deeper than just a\u00a0 transaction. For most, their business represents decades of hard work and dedication. For this reason, it\u2019s important that the sale process is seamless. One way to do so? Engaging a CFO when selling [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22068,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1730,1423],"tags":[1928,1743,1951,1924,1922],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How a CFO Can Help Sell Your Business - CFO Simplified<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If a business owner is interested in selling his business, he or she really needs a team of people, including a CFO to guide the process.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfosimplified.com\/cfo\/how-a-cfo-can-help-sell-your-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How a CFO Can Help Sell Your Business - 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